Viva La Vida
by jacksparrow589
Summary: In which Roy pursues his dream, Riza tries to convince him not to, and a promise which can never be kept is made. Royai for those who care to read between, through, around, and behind the lines. Title changed and author's note edited 2 October 2008.


**Viva La Vida**

"_What?"_

Roy repeated what he had requested of a now-incredulous Riza. "I want to know about flame alchemy, and you know about it. Teach me."

Riza took an involuntary step back. "I don't know anything."

"I think you do. Please, Riza, this is my _dream._"

"Some dream!" Riza mocked. "You saw what it did to my father—is that what you want to become? Is that really how you want it to end?"

"That won't happen," Roy assured her.

Riza sighed. "How do you even know about all this in the first place?"

"Your father." Roy crossed his arms. "He said you knew something about it, too." Suddenly, it clicked. "The mark on your neck… It's part of the array!"

At this, Riza's eyes grew wide. She knew what he was thinking. "No."

Roy started forward and grabbed Riza's wrist, spinning her so that her back was to him. She tried to break free, but Roy was holding her too tightly, trying to make sense of the little bit he could see.

"Stop it, _please!"_ Riza screamed.

Both of them froze. Riza's chest heaved as her breath came raggedly. An odd sound reached Roy's ears and he realized Riza was crying. Slowly, he relaxed his grip on Riza's wrists.

He could still see the point of the array. He wanted so badly to know! It could mean the difference between being able to help people and watching them get hurt, but he could never force Riza to show him the array. He would have to find some other way.

_What did I almost __**do**__? If I she hadn't yelled, I'd have put her in a position worse than anything I can imagine. It wouldn't have been for the right reasons, whether they are my own or assumed by others._

"Riza-"

"Don't you get it? I lot my _father_ to alchemy! I watched him deteriorate, and you did, too! I couldn't help him—he was too far in. But you… you don't have to continue on this path. Alchemy can _destroy_ you, Roy. You've seen that. If you know what's good for you, you won't pursue this knowledge. It will do nothing except cause you pain."

Riza was facing Roy now, and he could see, even in her young eyes pain and suffering beyond her years—it was the expression of those who had known only hardship.

"Please," Riza begged, "it's not worth it unless you don't value your life at all."

Roy had to think about this. Riza was asking him to give up everything he had worked for, but it was out of concern for him. What could he tell her that was essentially nothing? His silence would be taken only as disagreement, but he could not give up when he was so close!

"_Please."_

There it was again! A whisper this time, but it held more power over him than Roy thought possible.

"Riza… what if it's not the same?"

"I can't believe that, not after what I've been through. You have to trust me. I wouldn't ask without reason."

_A compromise might work._ "I won't pursue it for now, Riza, and that is all I can promise. However, regardless of alchemy, I have a duty to you, so I'm staying here. I won't make any promises save that I won't go to you for now."

Riza nodded. "Thank you." Stepping forward, she did something totally unexpected: she hugged him.

Roy felt a stab of guilt. _I get the feeling you won't be thanking me soon enough._

**END**

**A/N: Wow, I haven't had much time for writing lately. This was mostly to get me back into the swing of things, however long I can manage to stay in them. I'm taking a full course load this year, and it's mostly high-level courses. I know, I know, college will be harder, but I'm still working on senior year.**

**I really hope this piece is okay. There are parts of it that could use characterization work, but overall, I liked it.**

**EDIT: Why the new title? I thought the song (by Coldplay) fit, if only for the foreshadowing. At last check in the manga, things are coming to a head. This'll be the make-or-break moment, and I wanted to show what could have come before.**

**This is also a pretty pivotal point in their relationship, so I was bound to write something like this eventually, and this was the first thing that popped into my head.**


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